Klowning around. (The Roving Eye).

HIS paternal grandfather was a professional clown an magician whose do-it-yourself card tricks are still sold in toy stores and his maternal grandmother collected clowns of all kinds. So when Stevo Bruno launched his recording and rehearsal studio in Santa Monica last fall choosing a name was not exactly a mindbender.

With Klown Records, Stevo, as he prefers to be called, has done his forebears proud. The $1 million facility is a psychedelic homage to the odd family connection that helped bring his parents together.

"Some people like turtles and some like ducks. I'm a clown guy," says Stevo, 34, who previously ran a studio in Hollywood called SOS.

A pool table occupies the center of the main lounge, which is a kaleidoscope of bright colors, music-themed kitsch and, of course, clowns. Elsewhere, six elaborately decorated studios have the themes "Space," "Jungle," "Wild West," "Aquarium," "Love" and "Hell."

"All the rooms have really cool vibes. You can choose your own atmosphere," says Stevo, a bass player who spent much of his childhood hanging Out in his father's studio complex in Philadelphia, where Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon and the Chambers Brothers have recorded.

With a roster of established talent and young bands, Stevo intends to parlay the studio into a full-fledged record label. But not before having a lot of fun along the way. At Klown, the themed decor extends to the bathrooms, where a couple of evil-looking jokers lurk in the stalls.

"Everyday we hear screams down the hallway," Stevo says.